Vending machine



B. RADTKE VENDING MAQHINE IFiled Feb. 16. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet' '1 runo ade, 1

Nov. 20, 1934.

Nov. 20, 1934. RAD-m5 1,981,467

' vENDING MAcH-I'E Filed Feb. 16. 1951 ,5 sheets-sheet 2 Nov. 20, 1934. a. RADTKE VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 20, 1934- B. RADTKE VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb.v 16, 19:51

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov. 20, 1934. B. RADTKE 1,981,467

VENDING MACHINE ifa-.Z WZ

Patented Nov. 20, 1934 vENmNG MACHINE Bruno Radtke, Libertyville, Ill., assignor to Mills Novelty Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application February 16, 1931, Serial No. 516,114

7 Claims.

This invention relates to vending machines and particularly to machines for vending articles in package form such as gum, candy, and the like.

An important object of the invention is to provide in a machine of the class referred to an improved form of vending mechanism which is universal in the sense Ythat it is capable of dispensing packages of various shapes and sizes, such as sticks of gum, packages of gum, and alsocylindrical shaped packages as, for example, mint rolls.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as I proceed with my specification, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a vending machine constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is aside elevational view of the machine, portions of the casing being broken away to show the internal structure;

Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and showing the vending mechanism adjusted tothe delivery of sticks of gum;

Fig. 4 is a detail section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the machine taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail section through the lower rear half of the vending mechanism taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3 and showing the vending mechanism adjusted to the delivery of packages of gum; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 and showing the vending mechanism adjusted to dispense mint rolls.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1-3, the vending apparatus is contained in a box-shaped casing consisting of a back wall 11, top and bottom walls 12 and 13 extending outwardly frcm the back wall 11, and side walls 14. The casing is closed by a cover plate 15 which has an interlocking hinge connection on its lower edge, as indicated at 16, with the bottom wall 13. A pair of strap links 17 extending between'the cover plate l5 and the back wall 1l limit the opening swing of said cover plate on the casing. A lock 18 secured to the upper marginal edge of the cover plate l5 releasably engages an inwardly flanged portion 19 'of the top wall l2 to -lock the cover plate on the casing. The back wall 11 is provided with screw- "s receiving apertures 21 for receiving screws 22 (ci. 31a-67) which serve to hold the casing on a suitable mounting panel. The entire casing, including the cover plate 15, maybe made oi sheet metal. The back wall and the top and bottom walls may be made of a single piece and the side walls 14 secured thereto by suitable bolt connections or by welding.

Referring to Figs. 2-5,l the vending apparatus comprises; a holder for storing packages of the article to be vended, and indicated generally byv the numeral 23; a package release mechanism 24 supported from the lower end of the holder 23; coin-control mechanism for operating the release mechanism 24 and indicated generally by the numeral 25; and a discharge chute 26 for delivering the packages to an outlet opening 27 in the cover plate 15.

The holder 23, in the .embodiment shown, consists of a pair of vertically disposed chambers 28 and 29 which are formed' of channel-shaped sheet metal strips 31, the front and back edges of ywhich are bent inwardly, as indicated at 32, 'to engage the opposite ends of the packages. The upper ends of the channel'strps 31 are held in vertical aligned position in the casing by channel brackets 33 which are in turn riveted to bracket-supporting arms 34 carried by the cover plate 15. The lower ends of the channel strips 31 are supported by a pair of channel-shaped bracket plates 35 and 36 which are secured together and supported as a unit on the cover plate 15 by a post 37 extending between the plate 36 and a plate 38 carried by the cover plate 15. The chambers 28 and 29 are thus supported on, and are free to swing with, the cover'plate 15, and when 90 said plate is in the open position the holder may be re-fllled by introducing packages through the open upper ends of said chambers.

The release mechanism 24 is shown in Figs. 3-5. It consists of a swinging table or platform 39, one side of which is suspended from the opposite sides of the channel bracket plate 35 by a pair of links 41, the other side of said table being suspended from the opposite sides of channel bracket plate 36 by a pair of links 42. The links 41 and 42 are pivotally secured at their upper ends to the opposite sides of the plates 35' arid 36, respectively, by shoulder screws 43. The lower ends of links 41 and 42 are pivotally connected to the table 39 by shoulder screws 44 which are adapted to engage in either an-upper pair of holes 45 or a lower pair of holes 46 formed in the lower end of said links. The inner ends of the screws 44 engage tapped openings formed in lugs 47 which are struck from the main body portion of the .are connected together attheir lower ends by strips 48-and 49, respectively. The table 39 is thus free to swing or reciprocate transversely across the lower end of the holder 23 between the limiting positions shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

The release mechanism 24 is shown in Figs. 3 and 6 as adjusted for the delivery of strip-shaped packages such as sticks of gum and the like. A

feed block 51, having a thickness equal approximately'to the thickness of a single stick of gum 52, is positioned centrally on the table 39. The upper face vlof this block is slightly convex, as indicated, to assure the separation of thesticks one at a time. In Fig.' 3 the block 51 is positioned below the chamber 28 and the lowermost of the sticks 52 in the chamber 29 vis resting on the top face of table 39.- There is also a stick 52 positioned on 'the table immediately to the left of block 51. When the table is shifted from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig'. 6 the stick` 52, which in Fig. 3 appears at the left of block 51, is held against return movement with the table by a strippen device 53, presently to be described. This package being held against return movement accordingly falls from the table 39 onto the delivery chute 26 from which it may be removed through the opening 27 in the cover plate 15. As the table 39 moves tothe right the block 51 engages the stick 52 at the bottom of .chamber 29v and shifts it laterally until it is sepstated from the remaining sticks of the column. The block 51, in effect, displaces the iowermost stick in the column as the table 39 moves across the bottom ofthe holder. By the time said block has moved beneath the chamber 29 the column in chamber 28 falls onto the top face of table 39. When Athe table 39 is shifted from the position gshown in Fig. 6 back to the position shown in Fig. 3 this sequence of operations is repeatedwith the dropping of one of the sticks 52 from the chamber 29 under the action of the stripper mechanism 53 associated with that chamber.

Each stick 52 may be considered as undergoing four distinct actions or movements in the course of its separation from the storage chamber. For example, taking the' lowermost stick in the chamber 28 of Fig. 3, in the first position, the stick rests on the top of block 51. As the table 39 moves to the right the stick falls from the column onto the table to assume a position directly below the chamber 28, as shown in Fig. 6. The movement of the table from the position shown in Fig. 6 back to the position shown in Fig. 3 separates the stick from the column by shifting it laterally to assume the`position shown by the stick on the left edge of the table in Fig. 3. As the table 39 again shifts to the right the stick is dropped by the action of the stripper mechanism 53. The sticks are thus delivered in alternate order first from one and then from the other of the chambers 28 and 29 upon successive alternate swingings of the table 39. As will presently appear, the movement of the table 39 is effected through a coincontrol mechanism which gives the table one swing for each coin introduced.

The stripper mechanism 53 is duplicated for each of the holders 28 and 29, that shown in connection with the chamber 29 being best shown in Fig. 4. It comprises a stripper plate 54, which extends parallel to the open front face of the chamber 29; a rock shaft 55, journaled at its opposite ends in brackets'56 projecting from the opposite sides of the channel bracket plate 36; and a coil spring 5'7 encircling the shaft 55 and of the lugs 61 are provided with ears 62 whichv engage against the top edges of the brackets 56 to limit the inward movement of the stripper plate under the action of spring 57. The stripper plate tapers to a point 63 which bears against the packages as' they are shifted laterally by the table 39. The action of the stripper mechanism is well shown in Fig. 6. The stripper plate 54 associated with the-chamber 29 is bearing on1 the top of the stick 52 positioned to the right of the block 5l. When the table 39 shifts to the left the plate 54 holds the stick against return movement thus causing it to drop into the chute 26. After the table 39 has cleared the plate 54 'the latter returns to normal vertical position under the action vof coil spring 57;

'I'he adjustment of the release mechanism 24 to the vending of roll-shaped packages is shown in Fig. 8. In this position the table 39 is inverted and suspended from the lower pair of openings 46 'in the links 41 and 42. A feed block 64 of considerably greater thickness than the block 5l is positioned centrally on the table 39 opposite the block 5l, the action of this block relative to the mint rolls 65 being the same as the action of the block 51 relative to the gum sticks 52. As the table 39 swings or reciprocates across the lower end of the holder 23 the rolls 65 are dropped in alternate order from one and then from the other of the chambers 28 and 29 in the same Inanner as described in connection with the gum sticks 52. The stripper mechanism 53 serves to prevent the return of the separated rolls with the table.' The succeeding package of the column also, in a measure, helps prevent returnof the separated roll with the table inasmuch as it falls into obstructing position when released from the block 64. This obstructing action afforded by the succeeding package of the column is more pronounced in the case of the rolls than where a package of rectangular cross section is used since the stripper plate 54'does not engage the top face of the roll in as positive 'a manner as it does the top face of a fiat package. In either case, however, the return of the separated package with the table. is prevented by the combined action of the stripper mechanism and the succeeding package of the column.

Adjustment of the release mechanism 24 to the vendingl of packages of gum is shown in Figi 7. In this arrangement the table 39 is suspended from the links 41' and 42 'in the upper pair of holes 45. The arrangement is otherwise the same as for the mint rolls shown in Fig. 8. As the table reciprocates back and forth across thev lower end of the holder the block 64 separates lone of the packages of gum `66 iirst from one and then from the other of the chambers 28 and 29.

The movement of the table 39 is practically horizontal inasmuch as the links 41 and 42 are fairly long and the raising and lowering produced by the swinging of these links about their points of pivotal support is very small. The predominant motion ofthe` table is a transverse shifting or linear reciprocation.

The coin control mechanism 25 which is employed to operate the release mechanism 24 is shown in Fig. 4. This mechanism is shown in detail in my prior Patent No. 1,869,616, issued August 2, 1932, and is shown here only in sufficient detail to illustrate its embodiment in connection with the particular type of vending mechanism. It comprises; a rotatable shaft member 67 supported on the plate 38;.an operating handle l68 supported on the plate 38 and releasably connected to turn with the shaft 67; and a coin-detecting mechanism 69 for checking the coins as to size and quality. 'A coin slot plate 71 carried by the cover plate 15 affords means for introducing coins into the detecting mechanism 69. When a suitable coin is introduced the handle 68 may be turned through one complete revolution. The coin which has previously been used in the machine is temporarily held in position for view through a display window 72 carried by the cover plate 15. After the coin is released from the display stationat the window 72 it is dropped into a coin box 73 in the bottom of the casing.

Turning of the handle 68 through one cornplete revolution is arranged to shift or swing the table 39 transversely across the lower end of the holder 23. The shaft 67 is provided with a spur gear '74 which meshes with a second spur gear 75 carried on a stub shaft supported on the plate 38. The ratio of the gears 75to 74 is 2-1 to give a half revolution of gear rI5 for each complete revolution of the gear 74. The gear 75 is connected to the release mechanism 24 through a link '76 and a bell crank 77, the latter being pivotally supported at 78 on the channel bracket plate 35. The upper end of the link 76 is pivotally connected by a shoulder screw '79 to an eccentric stud 81 carried by the gear 75, and the lower end of said link is pivoted at 82 to the long arm of the bell crank '77. The short arm of the bell crank 77 is bifurcated to engage a pin 83 carried by the link 41. When the handle 68 is turned through one revolution to produce a half turn of the spur gear '15, the lower end of t-he link 76 will swing upwardly along an arc indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3 until the point 82 reaches the point 84. The turning of the bell crank 77 thus produced serves to shift the table 39 across the holder 23 to separate a package from the column. Upon the next revolution of the handle 68 this cycle of operations is repeated in the reverse direction, the return of the bell crank 77 to the position shown in Fig. 3 operating to separate a package from the other chamber of the holder.

The improved vending mechanism is designed to give positive delivery of a package foreach coin actuation of the machine. The extent o f vertical movement of the table 39 is very slight, so that the packages,y are separated from the chambers 28 and 29 without appreciably lifting the other packages of the columns. This tends to reduce the turning force which has to be applied to the handle 68 and makes for easy operation of the machine. The stripper mechanism 53 assures positive dropping of a package for each purchase made.

While in the embodiment shown I have illustrated the mechanism as adapted to the handling of packages of circular or rectangular cross section, it is to be'understood that packages of other shapes and sizes may also be handled in the machine. Modifications of this nature are to be viewed as fully within the scope of the invention.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the` appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in lview of the prior art.

What I regard as Letters Patent is:

l 1. In a machine for vending articles in package form, a holder for supporting the packages in adjacent vertical column arrangement, and means for alternately releasing Va package from new and desire to secure by one and then from the other of a pair of adjacent columns,'said means comprising a table disposed adjacent the lower end of the holder and provided on one side with a feed block for shifting the lowermost package laterally to effect separation thereof from the superposed packages of the column, the other side of said table being provided with a second feed block of somewhat greater thickness than the first and similarly adapted to the separation ofthe lowermost packages from the columns, and means for supporting said table to permit the latter to reciprocate laterally across the lower end of the holder, Said supporting means including connections whereby the table may be inverted on its support to bring either one Vor the other'of said feed blocks into operative position.

2. In a machine for vending articles in package form, a holder for supporting the packages in iadjacent vertical column arrangement, and means for alternately releasing a package from one and then from the other of a pair of adjacent columns. said means comprising a table disposed adjacent the lower` end of the holder and provided on one side with a feed block for shifting the lowermost package laterally to effect separation thereof from the superposed packages of the column, the other side of said table being provided with a second feed block similarly adapted to the separation of the lowermost packages from the columns, said first-mentioned block being of a thickness adapting it to the separation of stripl shaped packages, and said second block being of a thickness adapting it to the separation of relatively thick packages of rectangular cross section, and means for supporting said table to permit the latter to reciprocate laterally across the lower end of the holder, said supporting means including connections whereby the table may be inverted on its support to bring either one or the other of said feed blocks into operative position, said connections including means for adjusting said table from the position in which said secondmentioned block is operative to discharge packages of rectangular cross section to a somewhat lower position in which said block is operative to discharge roll-shaped packages.

3. In a machine for vending articles in package form: means for supporting the packages in adjacent vertical column arrangement; and means for alternately releasing a package from one and then from the other o'f a pair of adjacent columns, said means including a swinging table pivotally supported to reciprocate laterally across the lower end of said supporting means, said table being provided centrally with a raised surface for shifting the lowermost package laterally to effect separation thereof from the superposed packages of the column, and means for adjusting the position of the table relative to the lower end of the column to accommodate said release mechanism to the separation of packages of varying thickness. S

4. In a vending machine, the combination of means for supporting in adjacent vertical column arrangement the articles to be dispensed, release mechanism adapted to alternately separate the lowermost article from one and then from the other of said .columns and to deliver the same from the machine, said mechanism including a reciprocating table' positioned at thebase ofthe columns and provided witha raised surface for engaging and displacing the lowermost article from the column, means for adjusting the position of said ,table relative to the lower end of the columns, whereby` to provide an operating surface gauged to the, size or form of the article being dispensed, and means for operating said release mechanism. l'

5. In a vending machine, the combination of means for supporting in adjacent vertical column arrangementthe articles to be dispensed, release mechanismincluding a reciprocating separator memberV positioned atthe base of the columns for alternately separating individual articles ilrst froml one and then from the other o1' the columns for vdischarge from the machine, said separator member being provided with a raised surface forv engaging and displacing the lowermost article of the' column, means for adjusting said member relative to the lower end of the column, whereby to provide an operating surface gaugecl tothe size orformof the article being dispensed; and means for operating said release mechanism.

for discharge from the machine, said mechanism including a reciprocating -table provided with a raised surface for engaging and displacing the lowermost article from the column, means for adjusting the position of said table relative to the lower endy of the column, `whereby to adapt the release mechanism to articles of different size or form, and means for operating said release mechanism. f

7. In a vending machine, the combination o f means for supporting in adjacent vertical column arrangement the articles to be dispensed, means for alternately releasing an article from one and then from the other of the adjacent columns, said means including a reciprocating separator member positioned at the base ofthe columns for-engaging and displacing the lowermost article from the column, and means for adjusting the position of said separator member relative to the lower end` of the column, whereby to accommodate the release mechanism to articles of different size or form.

BRUNO RADTKE. 

